Living body observation system and method of driving living body observation system

This application claims benefit of Japanese Application No. 2008-111609 filed in Japan on Apr. 22, 2008, the contents of which are incorporated by this reference.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a living body observation system and a method of driving the living body observation system, and more particularly to a living body observation system including a power source section composed of a battery or the like and a method of driving the living body observation system.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, endoscopes have been widely used in the medical field or the like. Endoscopes in the medical field, in particular, are used for the purpose of observing inside of a living body. One type of the endoscopes described above is a capsule endoscope developed in recent years, which is swallowed by a test subject to be disposed in a body cavity, and capable of picking up images of a photographic subject while moving in the body cavity with peristaltic movement and wirelessly transmitting the picked-up images of the photographic subject to outside as image pickup signals.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-224553 discloses an apparatus having substantially the same functions as those of the capsule endoscope described above.

The Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-224553 describes a capsule endoscope having a configuration in which a reed switch with contacts that open when placed in a magnetic field is used as a non-contact power source switch. The capsule endoscope described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-224553 is configured such that, due to the working of the above-described reed switch, the contacts of the reed switch open to turn off the power source of the endoscope when the endoscope is stored in a container or a storage case having a magnet, and the contacts close to turn on the power source (power is supplied from a battery) of the endoscope when the endoscope is taken out of the container or the storage case, for example.

The present invention provides a living body observation system which includes a living body information acquiring apparatus including: a living body information acquiring section for acquiring living body information in a living body; a wireless transmission section for wirelessly transmitting the living body information to outside of the living body; a power source section for supplying driving power for driving the living body information acquiring section and the wireless transmission section; a magnetic field detecting section for detecting a magnetic field from outside and outputting a detection result as an electric signal; and a power supply control section for controlling a supplying state of the driving power supplied from the power source section to the living body information acquiring section and the wireless transmission section based on the electric signal, and which also includes a magnetic field generating section disposed outside the living body information acquiring apparatus, the magnetic field generating section including a resonant circuit for generating a magnetic field by resonance and a driving circuit for supplying driving voltage for driving the resonant circuit.

The present invention also provides a method of driving the living body observation system which includes a living body information acquiring apparatus including: a living body information acquiring section for acquiring living body information in a living body; a wireless transmission section for wirelessly transmitting the living body information to outside of the living body; a power source section for supplying driving power for driving the living body information acquiring section and the wireless transmission section; a magnetic field detecting section for detecting a magnetic field from outside and outputting a detection result as an electric signal; and a power supply control section for controlling a supplying state of the driving power supplied from the power source section to the living body information acquiring section and the wireless transmission section based on the electric signal, and which also includes a magnetic field generating section disposed outside the living body information acquiring apparatus, the magnetic field generating section including a resonant circuit for generating a magnetic field by resonance and a driving circuit for supplying driving voltage for driving the resonant circuit. The method includes switching a power source state of the living body information acquiring apparatus between on and off, every time the magnetic field is generated from the magnetic field generating section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of a main part of a living body observation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a specific configuration of a magnetic field generating section according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a specific configuration of a power supplying section and a magnetic field detecting section according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing an operating state of the magnetic field generating section according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing a correlation between an operating state of the power supplying section and a power source state of a capsule endoscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing an operating state of a magnetic field generating section according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing a correlation between an operating state of a power supplying section and a power source state of a capsule endoscope according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

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